The Twelve Days Of Christmas
by chadders
Summary: "Lily?" A tired voice called from the landing. "Why the hell is there a stonking great pear tree on my lawn!"   A little festive fic! JP/LE


A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS! Something a little different from me here, I was feeling festive and got inspired :) I'm probably posting this too late for anyone to appreciate it much, or even read it but I hope if you do stumble across this (and you have, I can see you reading this!) you enjoy it! Seasons Greetings everyone!

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowling, except Mrs Perkins, I believe her to be mine!

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_**On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree.**_

Lily Evans woke early as usual. It was an annoying habit from Hogwarts that she was never able to break when she came back home for the Christmas and summer holidays. Her green eyes squinted into the gloom of her untidy "pit of despair" as it had been named, lovingly of course, by her parents and she was able to deduce by the colour of the light streaming through the gap in her curtains that it was, indeed, FAR to early to be awake on the first day of Christmas. A little smile twisted her lips as that old carol floated sleepily into her head, what was it? On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree. She had admitted to herself a long time ago that the song was ridiculous, what you even want with a partridge in a pear tree? Unless, you were going to eat it and no-one is stupid (or romantic) enough to bother with anything like that these days. A silent sigh escaped her lips as she rolled out of her bed to have a little peer out of her curtains.

Shuffling across the room Lily played over in her head what she expected to see: her father's perfect garden, a perfectly square turf of green grass, probably tipped with the first morning frost, surrounded by perfectly manicured plants, waiting to bloom in the spring. Sometimes Lily hated how perfect it was, people weren't perfect, she could give many examples of that, _Severus, _a little voice in the back of her head whispered then proclaimed more loudly, _Potter! _Yes, Lily admitted, people aren't perfect so why should a garden be? Her mind drifted back to the garden, the _perfect_ image of how it should look printed in the forefront of her mind. Reaching the curtains, she grasped one half loosely and pulled it open, expecting to see her perfect garden, certainly not expecting to see . . .

"Potter?"

He was stood casually on her father's perfect lawn, arm crossed over his chest, hair messy – no doubt from lack of sleep – and a frigging _perfect_ smirk on his face. The top of his head was only just not touching the branch of the gigantic pear tree that had somehow appeared in the middle of the grass. Lily gasped incredulously _what? how? _Something at the top of the tree caught her eye, a magnificent partridge flapping its wings and pecking lazily into one of the juicy pears. Potter's smirk grew even more pronounced as her look of shock turned in to one of anger – her father was going to KILL her! One of his hands flew up to ruffle his hair then he raised one finger to show her that this was only day one. Before Lily couldn't find the nerve to bang her fists on the windows (and wake her parents up) he had winked and turned away leaving a volcano of uncontrollable emotions spewing out of Lily. Hastily, she grabbed a pen and a scrap of paper and scribbled.

_Potter._

_If you do not get back here and get this freaking great tree out of my dad's lawn he will castrate you. This is not an empty threat!_

Attaching it swiftly to her owl's leg, Lily practically threw the poor bird out of her window, bidding it to find that "Potter!"

"Lily?" A tired voice called from the landing. _Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no! _"Why the hell is there a stonking great pear tree on my lawn?" _Oh no. _

_**On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, two turtle doves.**_

On the second day of Christmas Lily didn't hesitate on getting out of bed and checking the less perfect garden. Her dad had gone spare, turns out he wasn't as much bothered by the tree ("It's rather festive") but at the attention it was no doubt going to bring. Nobody plants a tree like that overnight! And there was the partridge that refused to move no matter how many times Lily had been out to shoo it away.

"GO BACK TO YOUR PIGGING MASTER!" she had shouted, but then got extremely embarrassed as she clocked the neighbours peering through their curtains and giving her a funny look. But as Lily's curtains were wrenched open this morning she felt a slow sense of relief sweep over, there was no Potter, no birds (except that flaming partridge of course) and nothing seemed different from yesterday. If you think about it, it would have been a lot stranger if the huge addition to the garden would have disappeared overnight. Wouldn't it? With these happy thoughts in mind Lily waltzed down to breakfast, humming a happy Christmas tune then went straight into the kitchen to get herself some breakfast.

Half an hour later and Lily wanted to make some things clear. Firstly, it was NOT her first reaction to laugh. At ALL. She had walked into the kitchen still humming away – Oh crap! It had been to twelve days of Christmas! – and had stumbled in on a rather amusing scene, her father, all smart in his business suit, being mobbed by two example turtle doves.

"LILY!" he roared when he saw her, his milky blue eyes, Petunia's eyes, widening in anger, "GET THESE BIRDS OUT OF HERE!"

Lily tried her damnedest to get the birds as far away as possible but as soon as they saw her they decided to sit on her and refused to be moved until she eventually got sick of screaming at them, forcibly removing their feet from her shoulders and perching them on the stupid, gleaming pear tree. The partridge gave a contemptuous croak as the other two birds hopped up a perch to nibble at the pears.

"Get along!" Lily told the birds, still flushed an angry red, before smacking herself hard on the head. _Stupid Potter with his stupid attempt at stupid romance. _She then hurried quickly inside when she saw the same neighbours frowning at her. "Go away!" She muttered to herself wondering whether any of her prissy, NOSY neighbours actually had lives?

"Lily!" She almost knocked her mother to the floor as she stormed in, "I want to talk to you actually." Lily gave her a blank look, green eyes meeting hers. "So," Her mother began as she pulled Lily into the cosy living room and sat her down, "Who's the boy then?"

_POTTER! _

_GET RID OF THE BLOODY BIRDS! OR I WILL, I SWEAR, MAKE SURE YOU NEVER HAVE CHILDREN!_

_**On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, three French hens.**_

"OH MY!" Lily heard her mother cry out from the kitchen before calling frantically for Lily's father. With speed that would put James Potter's reflexes to shame, Lily was out of bed and at the kitchen window. She sighed, there were three hens pecking cockily at the seed he had sprayed across the grass. She winced as her father turned to face her, his hands shaking against his mug of coffee.

"Is this? _Funny _to him?" He asked and Lily swallowed deeply because the answer was a yes. Probably? "Can't you just go out with him?" He sighed at Lily's outraged face.

"No! I can't!"

"Just saying, it'd stop him!"

"It wouldn't! You don't even know him! You haven't even met him!"

Looking back, Lily couldn't quite place the look on her father's face, in his eyes, when she said that (and ran away back up to her room, ignoring the nasty look her sister was gave her as she passed). Time to find some solace in Advanced Potion Making. Well, maybe she did have an ulterior motive . . .

_Potter,_

_In my Advanced Potion Making Book there are many potions that would KILL you. Look, if you don't get rid of these creatures don't blame me if I slip some into your morning pumpkin juice. _

A few hours later the Evan's house shook with one long cry of anger. Mr and Mrs Evans gave each other one long look before deciding to leave well alone.

_Evans, my darling,_

_Don't you know that I drink tea on a morning by now?_

_**On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, four calling birds.**_

_Tweet. Tweeeeet. Tweet tweet. Tweet! TWEET! TWEEEEEEEEET!_

"SHUT UP!" Lily bellowed, racing over to her curtains ready to POUND the four little birds that had been 'calling' and bloody 'calling' since Merlin knows what hour! The four brightly coloured fiends looked at her through the thick sheet of glass, their dainty feet leaving little tracks on the frosty window ledge. She flung open her window and the birds fluttered away from her reach, all except one which hopped into her cold hands and puffed up its feathers. _Why?_ Lily thought unhappily, _Are you so adorable?_ She observed the little bird with an unheard tenderness, stroking its little fluffy head lightly with a finger. It chirped quietly as Lily's door opened behind her. Clutching the little bird to her protectively she spun round to face her deathly pale sister, whose milky eyes were eyeing her with strange look in their depths.

"I don't think you're special because you've got this freak admirer." Petunia spat the word freak and Lily noticeably flinched. The red haired girl breathed heavily for a few moments, stroking the head of the small bird in her hands.

"You're right, he must be a freak." She lowered her tone, "Apparently everyone who loves me is a freak." Her sister's eyes widen and her pale lips formed a silent 'o'.

"That's not what I meant-" She began to apologise but Lily sensed the reluctance and wouldn't accept it.

"Yeah, well maybe I am a freak but I'm happy to be one, I'm sorry you're not happy for me." And with that she shut the door in her sister's face before collapsing back into her bed, emotionally tired with the constant war between them. Her jealously as clearly green as Lily's eyes.

"You know," Lily whispered, half asleep, to the four little birds that had perched on her old, wooden headboard littered with muggle stickers from her childhood, "You're the best present I've had in ages . . . Just don't," She yawned hugely, "Poo on me."

When Lily woke she found the birds had gone and her immediate reaction was that of upset. Then, of course, she remembered that it had been James Potter that had sent her the damn birds and she shouldn't be sad that they had gone. No. She should be happy he and they had left her alone! She was, obviously, completely DISMAYED to find the four cute little birds had made a nest out of her socks in the pear tree. Well, Lily couldn't admit to being fully dismayed, the sight of the four birds up in that tree, each resting in a pair of her pink Barbie socks she still had made her laugh more freely than she had throughout the entire holiday so far.

_**On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, five golden rings.**_

"What in the name of Merlin-?" Lily questioned aloud as she reached into the bread bin to get some Hovis for her sandwich. It was lunch time and so far there hadn't been anything new, five gold rings it should be today, and Lily was beginning to get a little worried. She withdrew her hand from the tin container to examine the cold metal object she had picked up accidentally and there, in her hand, lay a small gold ring. Nothing fancy, but Lily couldn't help but admire the way the light reflected off the gold surface and how smooth it felt in her hand. _No! _She told herself firmly, _James Potter sent me this! How did he even get it in here . . . where are the others? . . . NO! _She scrunched up her face in irritation as her body automatically disobeyed her and started to look for the other rings. Then, annoying herself again she decided: _The rings are supposed to find me, so I'll let them. _

At 11 O'clock that night Lily Evans returned from the bathroom, hair wet and pyjama clad and laid out each of the four rings that had found her on her dresser before clambering into bed, an unstoppable sense of loss exploding in the pit of her stomach.

She had found her second ring very soon after her first having spent lunchtime thinking over the whole ring situation, which of course made her think of Potter, which of course made her think of his little note, the only one he had sent her, which OF COURSE made her think of tea, and want a cup of the steaming beverage. She was in the process of making the tea when she found the second ring – placed at the bottom of her favourite mug. Lily's favourite mug was the only thing her parent's absolutely insisted she keeps at home when she goes to Hogwarts as much as she wants to take it with her every time she leaves. It was a gift from her father the day she got a hundred percent in a test a primary school, a bright red mug with a cartoon lion printed on it. It was given to her because her father knew she was going to do well in her future, at high school. Seven years on Lily finds ironic how true her father was, and that the mug he chose to get her had a lion on it. But more to the point, how did Potter know to put the ring in that mug? How did he know she'd be using it?

The third ring was in her room, under the loose floorboard where Lily keeps all her spell books and her wand. She doesn't have to keep her things in there, she just does out of habit, back in first year she had taken to keeping things in her trunk of under there in case any of her old friends were interested enough to come around and wanted to go to her room. Not that they ever did, they thought Lily as much as a freak as her sister does. Lily was most surprised to find the ring here, not even her parent's knew about her secret hidey hole so how did Potter?

The fourth and final ring she had found that day, that had found her that day, appeared in the living room. Lily was sat in there on her own, watching the six o'clock news unfold, laughing occasionally at the items that the muggle world thought were important: the local theatre having to close because of damp, the amount of drunken teens about on the streets increasing, _how about a wizarding equivalent of Hitler gathering an army of school boys to help him kill muggles, muggle borns and lycanthropes. How about that? _Lily thought furiously, grabbing the remote to change channel, suddenly not interested in her old primary school's nativity or the weather forecast. Gasping for what must have been the hundredth time in the past couple of days, Lily removed the remote to reveal another shiny gold ring lying just underneath. It, like all the previous ones, was picked up and examined thoroughly and Lily managed to resist the temptation to fit it onto her finger and put it in her pocket instead.

Now Lily lies in bed, eyes closed but the frown touching her forehead lets any observer know she is thinking, not sleeping. She rolls over, fitfully, her feet tangle in the sheets as she reaches to turn her little bedside light on. The amber glow casts a little light across her room and Lily spots the envelope on her beside table almost immediately. She smiles despite herself as the envelope is ripped open by her tired hands and another golden ring drops into her lap. This ring is the most beautiful out of the five she has been given, gold and encrusted with little red jewels, surely not rubies. Lily can't resist the way it gleams and she slips it onto her index finger promising herself she'll take it off in the morning. She holds the note up to the light and lets out a sigh of exasperation as she reads.

_Evans, my beautiful,_

_Merry fifth day, I just wanted to keep you guessing . . ._

_**On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, six geese-a-laying.**_

It was almost midday when Lily woke, finally content enough to have a proper lie in.

"I'm sorry Mr Evans but this is clearly not acceptable, we've all noticed your attempt at festiveness but this is out of hand!" Lily frowned, confused as the irate voice of one of the neighbours floated under her door.

"Mrs Perkins, I am profusely sorry but they must have just got out, I must not have locked them in properly-" Lily listened to the argument for a few more minutes feeling utterly perplexed then it hit her. _Oh sweet Merlin! What had James done now? _Grabbing a pair of jeans and a hoodie off her messy bedroom floor Lily pulled them on over her pyjamas and headed straight down the stairs, gripping the banister so she didn't hurtle herself off them.

"Dad?" She asked nervously, coming to rest by his side at the door and immediately wishing she'd put another layer on to protect her from the bitter December chill. "Good morning Mrs Perkins." She greeted her neighbour, hiding her amusement from her face but not managing to keep it from her eyes and earning herself a tart look.

"Do you, perhaps, happen to have a rational reason for the flock of geese that are running amok _around_ the street?" She snapped at me and Lily felt him stiffen by her side.

"Do you, perhaps, think it would be possible for you to not speak to my daughter like that?" He bit back protectively, a more subdued look came into her eyes and she stepped back, "Lily and I will have the geese under control within the half hour, Mrs Perkins, you need not worry yourself." He spoke calmly enough but she scurried off anyway. "Bitch." He muttered as he turned to grab his shoes, Lily laughed nervously, her father never swore this whole Christmas thing was having a bad effect on him!

It took them longer than half an hour to get the geese settled.

"DAD!" Lily called, suddenly inspired by her little sock birds, who had built themselves a proper nest over the past two days, "They're supposed to be a-laying!" Her father's eyes widened in realisation.

"Lily you genius! Quick! Go to the shed, there's some hay in there!"

She froze.

"Dad? Why on earth is there hay in the shed?" He frowned, coming up with an excuse.

"Need it for my strawberry plants!" His eventual reply came, "Hurry up they're about to burst the tires on your mum's car!" Lily sprinted over to the shed, surprising herself at how fast she could run if she wanted to, all this running away from Potter over the years has done her some good. Sure enough, in the shed were four bags of the local pet shop's best hay, Lily grabbed them quickly. "Spread it around the base of the tree, hopefully we can get the chickens to settle there too!"

"Dad- you know this is going to ruin your garden, goose poo doesn't really help grass to grow . . ." She looked guilty as he shook his head and patted her on the back.

"You know, I'm actually starting to like the surprises." He giggled a little, in a way that embarrassed Lily before helping her spread out the hay evenly. "Seven swans a-swimming tomorrow." He commented as Lily and he retired inside, admiring the six geese and three hens nestled around the pear tree. Lily said nothing, only nodding. "You know I said I am enjoying this?" She nodded again, smiling slightly. "You can tell your boyfriend – fine! – _FRIEND_ that if he turns my garden into a lake I will be having words."

"I've been trying dad, believe me." And leaving her father in the door way Lily headed off upstairs to pen her 'letter'.

_Potter._

_For some reason unbeknownst to me, my father seems to like your little 'gifts' as I would suppose you could call them. He has however insisted that he will have to have strong words if you turn his perfect garden into a lake so I guess no swans for you._

_Evans. _

It was when she finished writing the letter that she realised she was still wearing the fifth ring. Unthinking, and against her real will, Lily yanked it off and placed it on her dresser with the other four rings. She spared it a long look before hurrying downstairs to join her family for the evening meal. Many comments were made about geese and Lily still being in her pyjamas and _Verrnonn _but none, Lily was thankful, were made about rings.

_**On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, seven swans-a-swimming.**_

Lily awoke to find the house still and quiet. Just the way she liked it. Stumbling, still half asleep, down the stairs she waded into the living room and flicked the TV on. The latest local news appeared on the screen, something happening in the park . . . swans . . . seven . . . Lily suddenly snapped awake and began to pay close attention to the screen.

"My name is Mark Stevens and I'm here in Privet Park where someone, it seems has decided to pull a very festive prank. It seems during the dead of the night this mysterious person has come down to the park and released seven wild swans –WHOA!" The presenter started to jump around as the swans massed around his feet. "John! Help!" The cameraman stopped filming and rushed forward to help his friend and just before the news channel decided it was time to cut back to the studio and apologise for any technical difficulties the camera fixed on one teenager, sat on a bench . . . one with glasses, a bird's nest of black hair and a red and yellow stripy scarf. Potter.

"To the park it is then." Lily ran up the stairs two at a time, got dressed and raced out of the door.

The brisk walk up to the park wasn't as painful as Lily thought it was going to be. She had to laugh as she saw the film crew packing away their equipment, unable to film if the presenter was scared of swans!

"It was all your fault!" The smooth voice of Mark Stevens cried in outrage from the back of the van, "You enticed them over!"

"I was told to!" A voice shouted back, equally as angry.

When Lily reached the edge of the park's pond all the swans ran over to her, gaggling and hissing but not, in Lily's opinion, in an aggressive way. Daring to take her eyes off the vigorous swans Lily scanned her surroundings for that bench. She found it, and him, and immediately began to make her way over but failing to untangle her feet from the swarm of swans. Seeing that she wasn't going to catch up with him, Lily watched James wave seven fingers in the air before grinning, rather handsomely she had to admit, and walking off.

"HEY!" She called after him, ignoring the funny looks, "POTTER!" now furious, she drew in a deep breath, "POOOOTTTTTTTEEEEERRRRRRR!"

He didn't look back. Lily felt sad? Relieved? Confused? She didn't know.

_**On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eight maids-a-milking.**_

"Lily?" Her mother's voice asked from across the dining table where they were all sat eating breakfast. "Do you, do you want some more milk? The milk man over delivered."

"Hm? Oh, no thanks." Lily's tone was light enough but her eyes had been glassy and controlled since yesterday morning and her mother and father had no idea what had caused her change in attitude.

"Please have some more milk Lily." Her father persuaded, rising to go to the fridge before pulling open the door and laying eight glass bottles of milk on the counter each stamped with an image of a maid milking a cow. Lily understood straight away but couldn't fathom it all out, if he didn't want to talk to her then why would he even bother?

"I'm fine thanks." She told her family, getting up to leave, "You might want to talked to the milkman about that over delivery, there's no way we're going to drink all that." Ignoring the comments from her mother and father and her sister's nasty looks she headed straight up to her room, slamming the door and seriously contemplating locking it by magic even though she was still one month underage. That was how much James Potter infuriates her!

_I mean what is it about him anyway? Why can't I just ignore him? Why does he get under my skin so much? I mean, I know he's good looking, every girl knows that, but if it was just that he was good looking I'd deal with it but I can't! I got rid of my crush on him ages ago didn't I? Didn't I?_

_Potter._

_Give it up. _

Lily was surprised to find her owl returning so quickly with James' reply.

_What have I done? _It read simply, Lily fumed.

_Ignored me! Left me to get raped by a gang of swans and then thought you could make it up to me by filling up my fridge with some dodgy milk, which I haven't drunk by the way!_

_**On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing.**_

Lily was woken up in the morning by her owl tapping repeatedly on her window pane.

"Sorry!" She told her bird, as it flew in, shivering, then dropped a scroll on her bed. She went to unroll it, leaving the window open in her haste. Drawn on the scroll was a beautiful picture, nine ladies, all dancing with invisible partners each of them having at least one feature of Lily's, one had thick red hair flowing to her shoulders, another had piercing green eyes, one had her nose. "Wow." She breathed, had James actually drawn this?

"What did you get today then, because I haven't seen any women dancing up and down the street?" Petunia asked scathingly, joining Lily in the kitchen.

"Nothing really." She replied quietly, not sure why the thought of Petunia seeing the picture upset her so much.

"Oh yeah?" Her sister's eyebrows rose in disbelief, "Not a picture like this then?" She held up James' drawing, a sick, triumphant smile on her horsy face.

"Give it back!" Lily roared.

"Why, it's not yours-"

"GIVE IT BAAACCK!" Petunia was interrupted by Lily rising off her chair, the picture of rage. "NOW!" Something shifted in the air and Petunia would later swear she could feel Lily's magic coming to hurt her, not that she would admit it to anyone. The drawing was laid on the counter before Petunia squealed and ran away.

"FREAK!"

Lily snatched up the parchment and smoothed out all the crinkles before abandoning her cooking and taking it upstairs and laying it out lovingly on her dresser. It was rather good, for James Potter anyway, who knew he could draw?

_**On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, ten lords a leaping. **_

It took Lily half a day to notice that her picture had changed.

All that morning she had been looking for signs, things on the news, clues, notes but no, nothing. Until about four o'clock in the afternoon when she retired to her room again, bored and with nothing to do but read. It was a good job she enjoyed reading because her life sure would be dull without it. A wonderful feeling filled Lily when she noticed her picture, no longer were the beautiful Lily-ladies dancing solo they were now accompanied by rather dashing James-Lords, with one extra, the tenth, standing alone at the bottom page, drinking a glass of mead and winking up at her. Bubbly happiness exploded in the pit of her stomach and she laughed, for the first time in the ten days not wondering how or why but just feeling happy that all this had happened.

Her sock clad feet padded over to the window and she couldn't stop the manic smile that spread across her face as she watched her geese, laying really good tasting eggs, her four little birds, nestled up in pink socks they had cheekily stolen from her drawer, her hens, they two, at the foot of the tree, laying perfect eggs, her turtle doves, who had now made it up to my father by eating all the slugs that dare to invade his garden and the royal partridge and his grand pear tree. Lily of course, decided to stop smiling when she clocked Mrs Perkins giving her evils from across the street.

_I think that woman keeps her Christmas spirit somewhere up her backside. _

_**On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eleven pipers piping.**_

It was eleven o'clock at night on the eleventh day of Christmas and Lily Evans could not sleep. There was no real reason; there wasn't anything, though, Lily thought that might be the problem.

No pipers. No pipes. No music of any kind. All day. And she was worried. What if something had happened to James? What if he gave up? What if he found someone and suddenly didn't want to be her true love anymore? Did Lily even want him to be her true love? Did she?

Before Lily could fathom out a true answer from her poor jumbled, not to mention hormonal brain, her owl was back at the window, rapping on the glass to be let in. Ignoring the cold gust that chilled her room as she opened the window Lily took the strange item clutched in her owl's beak. A CD? After a close examination Lily popped it into her CD player and pressed play before turning the volume to its lowest setting so as not to wake the entire household. A strong melodic line flew out of her CD player, a tune she recognised played on pipes, eleven of them she'd hazard a guess. The picture on her beside table began to glow and Lily found herself drawn to it.

A gasp of delight flew from her lips as the figures on her picture began to move and dance to the music, even the tipsy James swayed along and tapped his feet. Lily was lost for words, not that she had to say anything, but it was beautiful, and magical and (how she hated to admit it) really quite romantic. Hot tears sprung from her eyes as the music slowed as did the dancers, now rocking happily in the other's arms. Lily looked out onto her Father's perfect garden which was now all the more perfect because, _oh, because_ _James is here! _Pulling on her dressing gown she raced quietly down the stairs and donning her dad's wellies, out through the front door and into the perfect garden.

"Hey." James breathed as she came to stand underneath the tree with him. Lily couldn't decide whether he looked embarrassed or nervous but did it really matter because he was actually here! "Look, err, sorry that DC?"

"CD." Lily corrected him, unable to keep a straight face. He flushed a little pinker.

"CD, I'm sorry it took so long, I couldn't get the charm right and-"

"It's beautiful." Lily cut across him, blushing a bit herself at his sheepish but very handsome smile. "I didn't know you could draw?"

James laughed quietly, "It's a skill I usually keep to myself, not very manly, you know." Lily laughed a little laugh with him.

"But, how? How did you manage all this?" Lily was glad she was leant against the tree because her knees suddenly felt very weak when James grinned – _what's happened to me?_

James ruffled his hair then stopped as Lily gave him a murderous look.

"Your, um, your dad . . . actually."

"My Dad?" Lily questioned abruptly, looking back at her sleepy house for a sign of the man.

"Yeah." James' cute sheepish face was back, "Sirius and I kinda cornered him on platform 9¾ and Sirius talked him into letting us create all this havoc." He laughed nervously and Lily smiled – _Havoc? Certainly, but when has havoc ever made me feel so happy? _"And since then we've been in close correspondence, planning the next day. Look!" James cried, pulling a battered Nokia from his pocket it and looking highly pleased with himself. "I can text!"

"My dad can text?" Lily playfully ignored James' success and laughed as he cast a puzzled look.

"Why?" He asked worriedly, "Shouldn't he be able to?"

With the laughing over, the two fell headfirst into an awkward silence, occasionally daring to sneak a glance at the other. James jumped as somewhere in the distance a bell tolled midnight and Lily felt her face furrow into a frown as he began to leave.

"Told the folks I'd be home by Christmas Eve morning." His shrugged explanation came. Lily had to look and check that some valuable body part hadn't fallen out of her. Her heart perhaps? Or maybe her lungs, she certainly was beginning to feel a little breathless. "Hey." James began to extend a hand, perhaps to touch her comfortingly, but withdrew it, too cowardly to make a move. "Are you alright?"

_Crap! _Lily thought frantically, _Maybe you can see a pair of dilapidated lungs hanging from my chest! _The first of the year's snow began to flutter down around them, landing on James' coat and catching in his midnight black hair, making him look like he had a bad case of dandruff. Without thinking, Lily reached up and swept a few flakes from his fringe suddenly realising why he had his hands in it all the time – the feel of each single strand was magnificent. Her cold hand crept down the side of his face, the delirious thoughts of _MELRIN WHAT AM I DOING! _Overridden by the feel of his jaw and the intimacy in which he was looking at her.

In a swift movement their lips met, hers like ice and his delightfully warm.

"Lily?" James whispered as they broke apart and she flushed red with embarrassment. Without waiting for a reply he grabbed her hand and pressed it to the left side of his chest. The gentle widening of her eyes let him know she could feel his heart through his T-shirt, hammering an unsteady rhythm. "On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, twelve drummers drumming . . ."

* * *

"Good bye my Lily!" Her father grabbed her tightly as she said her good byes on platform 9¾, ready to return to Hogwarts for another tern of magical learning. Over her shoulder Mr Evans watched two tall, dark haired and really, quite handsome boys approach them.

"Mr Evans." One said as Lily and her dad had parted from the hug. Lily, they all noticed, looked quite horror stricken as Sirius Black _Sirius Black for Merlin's sake! _engaged in a warm, friendly handshake with her father. "Evans." He greeted her with the usual nod of the head but a little smile was playing on his lips, one that had never been there before.

"Black." She replied, with a new undertone of warmth. "James." She smiled fully now, extending a hand to her boyfriend.

"Lily," He squeezed her hand, "Mr Evans." and raised his other to shake hands with Lily's father. Both boys head's turned as someone, Remus Lupin was Lily's guess, called their names from down the platform.

"Save me a seat." Lily dropped James' hand and gestured for him to go meet this person, feeling a nice tug on her heart strings at the torn look in his eyes. After bidding her father farewell the two boys ran down to meet their friend, Lily smiled as she watched them dive on the unsuspecting Remus and laughed as he threw them off.

"Have a good term Lily." Her father told her, a gentle sadness in his milky blue eyes, "And you tell your friends to watch out for that Sirius Black." Lily frowned, "He is one HECK of a smooth talker."

* * *

I hope you all have an ace christmas, Lily and James certainly did :)


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